Whelan gives Forlan cause for regrets

When the Uruguayan re-routed his internal flights a week ago to head for Manchester airport instead of the North-east he appeared to be confirming the natural hierarchy of English football. By 2pm on Saturday, Middlesbrough may have caused him to reconsider.

"Before the game the manager said there would be no fear, no recriminations because everyone expected us to lose," Whelan said. "He told us `All you can do is go out there and give it your best shot. If you lose you're not going to be any further into the relegation zone.' We probably were the better team in the second half."

In the end, a crowd of only 17,624 were there to witness Sir Alex Ferguson's final separation from the FA Cup. If United's treatment of the competition in past years has been considered by some as less than holy, then there was nothing momentous about the end when it came. By 2pm on Teesside in a half-empty stadium, Ferguson was coming to terms with the reality that the four FA Cup winner's medals he already has would just have to do.

"I feel disappointed," he said. "It was careless and scrappy to give that game away . . . ridiculous. I was confident at half-time. Our passing was good and we controlled the match. They changed their system and we stopped using our width and contributed to our own downfall."

The tactical change was not the wholesale re-organisation of Middlesbrough but the introduction of Mark Wilson, a former United player, who stiffened the home team's midfield until his departure 20 minutes from time.

A United midfield that missed the injured David Beckham and the rested Juan Sebastian Veron was not moved from its inertia even by the censure of Roy Keane. The summoning of Ryan Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy from the bench was tribute to Middlesbrough's resolve.

Whelan said. "The last time Ryan Giggs changed the game but today the lads stuck to their guns and in the second half everything changed. The manager made changes because we were getting overrun in midfield. We put an extra man in there and it gave us a lot more attacking options."

That option was Andy Campbell, an England under-21 international, and in the 89th minute, the uneasiness at the heart of United's defence was exposed by his explosive running.

Barthez's clearance was picked up by Whelan who spread the ball wide to Windass on the right. Only Campbell was waiting in the box and he stooped to head the second goal.

"The manager told me to run in behind them and cause a few problems," Campbell said. "When the ball was on the surface they seemed to struggle a little bit."

In fact, the only blemish on a glorious last five minutes for Middlesbrough was recorded on Noel Whelan's face. A black eye delivered by a fan in the frenzy of celebration.